Interstellar SPOILERS ALLOWED Discussion thread

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I dont really care all that much about the hard science. It's all theoretical physics anyway. So in 10 or 15 years it's possible thats all the science in this film is completely outdated.

But will Interstellar still be a good film? That's whats important.

[crocodile 8,017]

Well, 2001 is not entirely accurate anymore and it doesn't seem to matter.

Karol

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Exactly!

Scientific accuracy is important only up to a certain point.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Celebrate the love, celebrate the love. Celebrate the looooove.

Lucas did that in 1983.

[karelm 2,914]

Did you guys see this: http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/aapj5qbk0iyjatrnjfy0.jpg

Does it change any interpretations or opinions?

[Romão 2,274]

TARS was so great

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Did you guys see this: http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/aapj5qbk0iyjatrnjfy0.jpg

Does it change any interpretations or opinions?

That guy's got it. Didn't have the patience to do that myself though, and if I did it would have been a pencil drawing on loose-leaf paper.

[Arpy 4,145]

JFC, 21 pages of discussion and it was worth reading it.

I think there are scientific details in many films where *I* could say 'WTF? That's just unbelievable it's ridiculous. In real life it would have been...' and that's pretty much how I react to many films now that I think more about it. As hard as it is for me to remind myself that firstly it's fictional and more important, secondly I'm not an astrophysicist or a theoretical physicist and many things are unbelievable to me.

[mrbellamy 6,287]

I was with this movie (I mean really with it) all the way until Michael Caine's death. All of that stuff until that point was just so vivid, a great experience. A movie filled with quiet discovery and genuine pathos, with McConaughey incredibly charismatic and warmly affecting throughout. Easily the most interesting lead character/performance Nolan's had. The whole section on the water-logged planet capped off with the video messages scene is the high point of this film and maybe the best stretch of film Nolan's ever written and directed. Truly hits -- in short form -- that sweet spot of what he has more or less been going after his whole career: an intriguing, horrifying, mind-bending yet wholly accessible concept that is used not as an expositional crutch, but rather springs organically from the narrative and deepens our understanding of character. Beautifully executed, heartbreaking. Completely worth the price of admission.

So I have to admit I became pretty disappointed that Nolan effectively abandoned this bold vision of a space epic without the typical notions of conflict spurred on by a big, bad antagonist and went for...well, another kind of space epic with conflict spurred on by a big, bad antagonist. Man, I just don't get it. Suddenly I was left questioning everything about Caine's character and it didn't really hold up. Not to mention poor Brand is left standing there wondering what the hell just happened and the impact this discovery had on her isn't explored at all! Wish there was some of that. It's disappointing that the Nolan Bros were concerning themselves so much with the Fifth Dimension and yet they're still relying on the talent of their actresses to get their female leads out of the First....

So then there's Matt Damon. I was intrigued when I heard he made a cameo in this film, but having seen it, they probably shouldn't have gone with a movie star for this character because his mere presence was more than a little distracting. That his character is so mysterious and weirdly undeveloped didn't quite help me get over the "Matt Damon-ness" of it all, nor did him turning into another surprise antagonist who gets in an utterly ridiculous fistfight with McConaughey and then blows up. The best/worst part is that after all of that, they just forget the whole thing! It was such an odd diversion...for a movie that has been leaving people scratching their heads and pondering universal truths and mysteries, I never imagined that this complete 180 into campy genre territory would be the biggest mindfuck of all. It was like out of a completely different movie.

I'm mixed on the finale. I found the bookcase sequence visually fascinating and given everything else, it seemed fair enough if not 100% satisfying. I found it somewhat moving on one level, but it did feel more like an exposition dump rather than the inevitable outcome of all that had preceded it. A whole other chunk of stuff to be dealt with, but it kinda worked. Still while I don't want to necessarily criticize the movie for giving Murph and Cooper their moment, the McConaughey/Burstyn scene felt strangely hollow. Like the Nolans half-heartedly threw it in there because they weren't sure people would accept the Fifth Dimension sequence as an emotional resolution. I'm not too sure how I feel about Cooper getting that last-minute reprieve, either, but I guess I can stretch that far given everything else.

I have to say, as well, that before the bookcase stuff, I almost wondered if perhaps McConaughey was about to die and we would follow Hathaway to her resolution. Might have lead somewhere more interesting, potentially. Who knows. Also I kept wondering why Cooper didn't ask once about his son? You know, the one who was so committed to sending him messages for 23 years? And what was with Tom himself randomly becoming kind of a dick? Maybe I missed something there, but I really didn't like how that character or his relationship with Murph was handled once it started switching back to Earth. Felt like he just got tossed aside.

All in all, an ambitious mess that's fully worth seeing for its high points and kind of a riot, anyway, during its low points.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I don't want to go into too much detail about my experience with the film, because what Nolan achieves in visceral intensity is hard to put into words. It's near perfect cinema, the only hindrances come in the form of the beginning and the end. The set up on Earth is all well and fine, but it felt rushed. In the span of 15 or so minutes we're already up in space. In particular, the moment Cooper and Murphy discover NASA to him docking the Endurance all happens way too fast. It's hard to cite this as a destriment though, because I can appreciate Nolan wanting to get to the meat of the film. As for the end, I felt like he should have gone full Stanley Kubrick and ended it in the black hole with some ambiguity of whether his daughter will figure out the data and whether Brand will be able to reach the last planet and start the colony. Somehow survivng, being rescued, reuniting with his daughter on her deathbed, and then going back out to meet up with Brand without even asking about his son, it was sort of a mess of a denouement. And to top it all off, the Smithsonian cut the music, flicked the house lights on and made an announcement telling us to all get out the second 'Directed by Christopher Nolan' appeared. A real 'what the fuck?' moment, especially considering that the credits were only like 3 minutes long.

Zimmer's score is perfection. Seriously, it works too well with the film to even comprehend. I'll leave that at that.

[Romão 2,274]

I think it's his best score in ages. I don't think a Zimmer score ever left me craving so much for the cd

[crocodile 8,017]

Same here.

Karol

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

It's his best score since MAN OF STEEL.

[KK 3,307]

I think it might be his best score since The Da Vinci Code, but that depends on if the score really is as repetitive as it is in film.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It's sublime in the film.

[KK 3,307]

Agreed. It had beautiful moments (my favourite of which is this potential "wonder" theme), but the main theme did get repeated a lot.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

It's sublime in the film.

Yeah I agree. But I do have a feeling I'm gonna want to kick Nolan in the shins when I hear everything Zimmer did that was unused in favor of reusing pieces.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The set up on Earth is all well and fine, but it felt rushed. In the span of 15 or so minutes we're already up in space.

Nope. I'm sure it takes well over half an hour to 40 minutes for them to get into space.

[KK 3,307]

The opening is fine. It's the ending that felt rushed.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Should have been a full three hours long.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It honestly felt like 20 minutes. On that note though, the editing is excellent. Didn't feel like 3 hours whatsoever.

[KK 3,307]

Should have been a full three hours long.

I agree. Additional time would not have hurt the film at all, and would have actually helped.

[nightscape94 965]

I saw it yesterday in 4K digital. There were things that worked, and some that didn't. It was a great cinema experience, but I'm sort of mad with it for not being better. It had the ingredients to be something special, but it didn't pull it off. Still, a good movie. I don't have time right now to really speak in depth about it, so here's a quick list.

The Good:

-Visuals (truly glorious)

-Sound design (love the balance with the moments of emptiness)

-Music (not a Zimmer hater by nature. Score was appropriate enough)

-McConaughey, Caine, Damon and Lithgow

-Science. Unfortunately I saw part of the ending coming a mile away (the "ghost" being Cooper, completely obvious right from the start, just wasn't entirely sure about the "how" until later)

The Bad:

-The science is way too interesting to have moments like Brand threatening the safety of the crew and jeopardizing the mission to speak endlessly about love. That character moment felt random and falsely cinematic. I feel bad for every female astronaut, cosmonaut, or other ,who had to watch that scene.

-The Damon sequence also felt way out of place. Good acting, bad set piece.

-For a movie waxing poetic about exploration, there were hardly any moments of real wonder. The crew were a bit interested in the wormhole when they first saw it, and I liked Brand's reaction to the time bubble during the warp, but what about being the first humans to visit an extrasolar planet, or seeing a black hole? Where's the awe on their faces, the laughing of pure joy? None of them have even been in outer space, let alone being that close to Saturn, etc. Yes, I know the mission was dire and important, and Nolan can't spend 30 minutes of his running time on reaction shots, but I highly doubt that scientists would be able to contain themselves quite that much upon seeing these things up front for the first time. Just asking for a little more awe.

-The ending moment with Murph on her death bed seemed way too short to be a proper pay off. The whole movie was working toward that final moment, and in in a weird way it turned into a love story about Cooper and Brand.

[mrbellamy 6,287]

For a movie that waxing poetic about exploration, there were hardly any moments of real wonder. The crew were a bit interested in the wormhole when they first saw it, and I liked Brand's reaction to the time bubble during the warp, but what about being the first humans to visit an extrasolar planet, or seeing a black hole? Where's the awe on their faces, the laughing of pure joy? None of them have even been in outer space, let alone being that close to Saturn, etc. Yes, I know the mission was dire and important, and Nolan can't spend 30 minutes of his running time on reaction shots, but I highly doubt that scientists would be able to contain themselves quite that much upon seeing these things up front for the first time. Just asking for a little more awe.

Yeah, that's a problem that I have with the way Nolan directs his actors, in general. McConaughey reacting to the video logs is about the only spontaneous bit of human emotion I can recall in the film. Maybe some of Hathaway's more verklempt moments too. I'm not looking for Robert Altman here, but a little more naturalism would be nice (and no, Chastain yelling "Eureka!" and throwing papers off the balcony before making out with Eric Forman doesn't count.)

[crocodile 8,017]

I think it might be his best score since The Da Vinci Code, but that depends on if the score really is as repetitive as it is in film.

It better not be. The "standard" edition is 72-minutes long. The deluxe adds another 21 minutes and then there's 30 additional minutes on that fancy box edition. Which gives about 123 minutes of music.

To be quite honest, it must contain some unused stuff, cause there wasn't as much material in the film.

Karol

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

The Bad:

-The science is way too interesting to have moments like Brand threatening the safety of the crew and jeopardizing the mission to speak endlessly about love. That character moment felt random and falsely cinematic. I feel bad for every female astronaut, cosmonaut, or other ,who had to watch that scene.

-For a movie waxing poetic about exploration, there were hardly any moments of real wonder. The crew were a bit interested in the wormhole when they first saw it, and I liked Brand's reaction to the time bubble during the warp, but what about being the first humans to visit an extrasolar planet, or seeing a black hole? Where's the awe on their faces, the laughing of pure joy? None of them have even been in outer space, let alone being that close to Saturn, etc. Yes, I know the mission was dire and important, and Nolan can't spend 30 minutes of his running time on reaction shots, but I highly doubt that scientists would be able to contain themselves quite that much upon seeing these things up front for the first time. Just asking for a little more awe.

The seven females I was with didn't mind Brand's speech about love. It sets up a vital idea. The sex of the character making it has zero relevance.

Romilly's somewhat meek request to stop the ship's spinning to see the wormhole, like a soldier briefly allowing himself a bit of indulgence, and the initial survey of Mann's planet with that magical twinkling music were all of the scientific "awe and excitement" depictions I needed. As you recognized, they've got a rather serious job to do, they're not on a field trip.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

But it makes the film a bit less interesting.

While the film has some strong visuals. It doesnt really linger on them enough.

Nolan typically wants his special effects to have a naturalistic feel, heavily geared towards a minimalist realism. But that made some of the scenes that could...should have been mind blowing (the worm hole, Gargantua etc) just a bit too sterile and underwelming.

Visually Gravity blew me away, time and again. Interstellar looked great, but it just didnt have that spark, visually.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

I'm repeating myself here, but for that very reason the film was far more immersive for me. Instead of a ton of grand vistas from some third party's vantage point, you see more or less only what the characters see: views from their windows.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

"Immersive" is the most overused, overrated word of the last 5 years or so, ever since Avatar.

The good thing about seeing a film is that you can see more then the characters do. I do like my sci-fi with a bit of visual garnish. Tight, close up shots from a characters POV, fine. but put in a wideshot or two for visual clarity or awe please!

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

"Immersive" is the most overused, overrated word of the last 5 years or so, ever since Avatar.

No, "overrated" is!

[KK 3,307]

Regardless of whatever "sterility" there may be, Gargaunta and the wormhole were absolutely beautiful, and certainly had it's fair share of "mind-blowing" shots.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Think my favorite "big" shot was of the tiny, glimmering Endurance set against Saturn's rings. The sheer sense of genuine scale in that was breathtaking. That's the kind of thing I'm after. Not contrived vistas just for the sake of showing something pretty.

In other news, I believe not having this score yet is affecting my sanity.

[KK 3,307]

Yeah, that shot was beautiful.

The sequence with the damaged Endurance spinning out of control was also quite impressive.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yes! The first Zimmer score since Hannibal i'm actually looking forward too, and its not available!

Who's idea was this?

[crocodile 8,017]

Apparently, they didn't use any green screens in this:

Karol

[KK 3,307]

Yes! The first Zimmer score since Hannibal i'm actually looking forward too, and its not available!

Who's idea was this?

The big Z-man's himself.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Just for that i'll be torrenting it!

Fucker don't deserve mo money!

[crocodile 8,017]

Yeah, there is this one track available. And it is hardly even the best material in this score.

Karol

[KK 3,307]

The main theme is available in pretty clean form. And one of the action cues is out there officially.

I've already listened to both more than I could take. I need more!

[crocodile 8,017]

Where is it? Where is it?

Karol

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

The main theme is available is a pretty clean form. And one of the action cues is out there officially.

I've already listened to both more than I could take. I need more!

I've got those two and the rip of the IMAX trailer audio on constant repeat.

[crocodile 8,017]

My favourite theme is the one that opens the film and can be heard when Coop leaves.

Karol

[KK 3,307]

That's the theme from the IMAX preview. But did you manage to get a clean rip Grey?

[crocodile 8,017]

This one:

I love it.

Karol

[KK 3,307]

The Main Theme:

It's almost impossible to find the original on youtube! It's been drowned with a million covers, and remixes, and stupid videos labelled "extended theme" when really the user just put the original track in an endless loop.....so appreciate this link!

The action cue; "Day One Dark":

This one:

I love it.

Karol

Yeah, that theme is beautiful. I hope it's not too loud in album form.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

That's the theme from the IMAX preview. But did you manage to get a clean rip Grey?

Nope I've only got that recording that Karol posted.

It's amazing how I thought what ended up as the main theme would be nothing more than incidental underscore, if it appeared at all. It seemed way too simple for that. And yet... listen to how much is actually in there. Damn.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Apparently, they didn't use any green screens in this:

Karol

I posted about that in the other thread weeks ago!

I forgot to mention that the Smithsonian was giving out posters with the tickets. It was the last one that was revealed in the other thread, the one that I liked the most. Found a stack of them that some group must have left in the theater on my way out too, so I'm loaded!

[crocodile 8,017]

I posted about that in the other thread weeks ago!

Oh, sorry. I sort of avoided any news/speculation on this film in the past weeks.

Karol

[karelm 2,914]

Pretty good write up on the problems with Interstellar:

http://www.salon.com/2014/11/11/the_7_biggest_problems_with_interstellar_partner/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

[crocodile 8,017]

Two of them I can agree with. The rest is mostly rubbish and/or irrelevant. Seems like someone decided on number 7 and then struggled to find something to complete the list. I'm not saying the film is perfect (my own review will be up tomorrow or Thursday) but most negative comments I read/heard are really dumb. I'd appreciate an intelligent critique, for a change.

Karol